SO JD, did u answer the scripture at 1 John 5:1,5-8 indicating you are calling God a liar by saying Jesus is not his SON ??
you quote a lot of worldly expertise works alluding to the notion that Jesus and God are one, yet the scriptures still indicate two -
I know you mean well but you haven't read a word I wrote, or thought about it very deeply. The doctrine of the Trinity (which is issue here) is very logical and you have been utterly mislead by the Society into believing it is something it is not. You've been deceived. You need to go back to the basics and understand how you have been mislead. Based upon your statement you still don't get it, still don't understand the hypostatic union. Well, the information is there, plenty of it and if you are serious and honest with yourself you will read it. 2,000 years of sound Christian theology back this up. Your so-called JW Bible scholars are children in this regard, not very smart compared to the likes of Moltmann or Aquinas, and certainly not Bible scholars in any true academic sense. The Trinity doctrine does not teach that Jesus the man, the created humanity, the creature, is the Almighty. It doesn't teach that, and until you grasp this very simple concept you will be spinning your wheels in confusion. But maybe that gives you solace.
You also need to grasp the essential difference between immanent and economic trinity. As for 1 John 5:1, 5-8, of course Jesus is God's Son, but Jesus is not God's son by virtue of His birth two thousand years ago; the Word has always been God the Son from eternity. The Word is God the Son. Jesus is a divine person who assumed a human nature. God the Father and God the Son are distinct but not separate, not individuals, but here we are talking about immanent Trinity, before creation, who God is in himself. This is very basic Christian teaching. I'll quote the introduction to this section on my web site to give you an overview of how you have been mislead into believing something that isn't true. Remember, because Jesus the creature, the created humanity, is not the Almighty He can pray to the Father without contradiction. And in that sense they are two. It really does make sense.
“The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is that there is one God, who exists in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons share the one divine nature. They are equal, co-eternal and omnipotent. They are distinct from one another: The Father has no source, the Son is born of the substance of the Father, the Spirit proceeds from the Father (or from the Father and the Son). Though distinct, the three persons cannot be divided from one another in being or in operation (Oxford Dictionary of the Bible [New York, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005] 1207) (Oxford). With minor changes, the reformed Protestant churches have essentially adapted the Catholic teachings on the Trinity Doctrine (see section 12).
Central to the doctrine that God is three Persons in one nature is the premise that “Jesus is God,” a term which causes great confusion among the Jehovah’s Witnesses who unfortunately do not understand what is meant by this Trinitarian phrase or what the Trinity doctrine teaches. One of their more bizarre errors lies in believing that Christ is a created angel who became man and after the resurrection reverted back to being an angel.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have published countless pages of criticism of Christian Trinitarianism, teaching that it is the work of Satan and utterly illogical. This relentless attack, however, is based upon certain misconceptions and falsehoods allowing them to capitalize on many unsuspecting individuals’ ignorance of accurate Trinity dogma.Three of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ false teachings are particularly misleading and form the core vehicle for the dissemination of gross distortions.
First, they do not understand that a "Person" is not a material human being like you or I. Persons of the Trinity are spirit. Secondly, they do not understand that God is "three" in one sense, and "one" in a completey different sense. And third, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are unwilling or unable to acknowledge or grasp the concept of the hypostatic union, the union that is the God-man Jesus, who is fully God the Son and fully man, a divine Person who assumed a human nature. Intertwined with this concept is the often ignored principle that the created humanity of Jesus is not God. Accordingly, Jesus, the man in the God-man equation, could pray to His Father and acknowledge His Father’s superiority without committing any doctrinal contradictions. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, on the other hand, teach that the incarnate Jesus was nothing more or less than a man.
This treatise begins by shining a light on the worst of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ misunderstandings, and goes on to explain in greater detail what the Trinity doctrine actually teaches. From there, many of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ arguments against the doctrine of the Trinity are disposed of in light of more accurate teaching, after which a further examination is made of scriptural support for the Trinity in the Bible.
A major section is then devoted to select Bible verses that prove that Jesus was, and is, God, followed by a brief summary of early Trinitarian theology which provides us with a better understanding of the doctrine’s foundation. The concluding section is devoted to the issue of Jesus Christ being a created angel.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose religion is essentially 4th century Arian Subordinationism (see section 41) have said many things about the doctrine of the Trinity that are simply not true. Out of a sense of common decency and respect, those who propound and believe in the doctrine and people who seek to understand it better are entitled at a minimum to a fair hearing on the issues, which is the primary goal of this work.
But before you begin, it is very important to understand two simple concepts which lie at the heart of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ errors; the difference between immanent Trinity and economic Trinity, and how their religion has commingled them resulting in untold confusion.
http://144000.110mb.com/trinity/index.html#1
See also proof texts that Jesus was and is God at:
http://144000.110mb.com/trinity/index-5.html#20
John 1:1 "and the Word was God" should be a conclusion reached based upon all of the proofs that Jesus was, and is, God, not a starting point.
